Fatal Past: A Jess Kimball Thriller by Diane Capri

Author:Diane Capri
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AugustBooks
Published: 2017-10-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

Sam grappled in his back pocket for his phone and pulled it out. There were no signal bars in the corner of the screen.

He looked up at Jess just as another loud clanging sounded in the distance.

“Hello?” he called again. Still no response. The noises stopped abruptly, which increased his unease.

“Do you have cell service?” he asked as they both stepped toward the puddle, which looked like a mix of blood and water.

Jess glanced at her phone and shook her head. “We ought to call the police, though. There’s no telling what’s down here.”

Or who.

The unspoken words hung in the air between them. He stared at her, knowing she was right. Unwilling to do what she asked.

Not that he didn’t trust the Police Nationale. Just the opposite. They’d handled the initial situation professionally enough. But he’d been a cop for most of his life. He knew how things went. By the time the police arrived, the evidence could be gone and the perpetrator right along with it. Other lives were at risk, too. Sam would be the one directly responsible if he failed to act when he had the chance.

Gnawing the inside of his cheek, he fought back a stab of guilt he still suffered from all the times he’d failed to follow his gut. When he waited for the evidence and the warrants. Every time, more innocent people like Melinda McAllister paid the price.

It didn’t matter what anyone said. Sam knew the truth. If he’d followed his gut, more often than not, he’d have saved the innocents whose haunted faces still plagued his nightmares. But he’d had a badge to lose and a job to keep. Now, he was a free agent. He wouldn’t err on the side of caution. Not again.

“We’re unarmed, Sam. I didn’t have time to get the paperwork for my gun. We need firepower. Let’s go back up and get the cops.” Jess put her hand on his arm to get his attention.

Sam shook his head. “You go. I’m going to push forward. This red stuff is probably fresh blood. Somebody could be hurt.”

“We don’t know what’s going on down there.” She turned her phone to the winding tunnels around them. “We don’t even know exactly where to look.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Someone is in trouble here. Don’t you feel it?”

Jess blinked, then sucked in her bottom lip. She nodded. “Trouble is, I do.”

“So I’m going in deeper. See what I can see.”

“Okay. I’m not letting you go in there alone.” Jess cocked her head for a moment then gave a curt nod. “But I’d feel a lot better if we were armed.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” Sam’s grin was a little sickly. “How are you at hand-to-hand combat?”

“Not bad,” she replied. “You?”

“Been a while since I had to find out.” He shrugged and moved ahead. Jess followed.

They pushed forward, navigating the twists and turns, stopping every few yards to listen. They passed rows of stacked boulders until they came upon a pile of rocks that looked different from the rest.

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